The complete rules of chess, from setup to checkmate — clear, beginner-friendly, and with diagrams. Learn how each piece moves, what a check is, the special moves (castling, en passant, promotion), and the three ways a chess game can end.
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efgh1Chess is played on an 8×8 board with 64 alternating light and dark squares. Each player starts with 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns.
Two simple rules to set up the board correctly:
White always moves first. After that, players alternate turns — one move per turn, no skipping.
Every piece has its own way of moving. Select a piece below to see its range and action on the board.
Moves one square in any direction — up, down, left, right, or diagonally.
The most important piece. The king can never be captured. If it is under attack, you must move out of check. If the king has no way to escape, the game ends in checkmate (you lose).
Value: Priceless (the game ends if checkmated).
To capture an enemy piece, move one of your own pieces onto its square. The captured piece is removed from the board. Your piece stays where the captured one was.
Two important things to remember:
Pawns are the only piece whose capture rule differs from their movement rule: they move straight forward but capture diagonally forward.
Most of chess is the basic moves. But three special situations have their own rules — and they come up in almost every game.
872afgCastling is the only move that lets you move two pieces at once. The king jumps two squares toward a rook, and that rook hops to the king's other side.
Castling kingside (O-O): king to g1, rook to f1.
Castling queenside (O-O-O): king to c1, rook to d1.
You can't castle if the king or that rook has already moved, if any piece is between them, if the king is currently in check, or if the king would pass through a square attacked by the enemy.
When a pawn advances two squares on its first move and lands directly next to an enemy pawn, the enemy pawn can capture it "in passing" as if it had only moved one square. This capture is only legal on the **very next turn**.
872abcdefgh1eWhen a pawn reaches the opponent's back rank (the 8th rank for White, the 1st for Black), it must be promoted. You replace it on the same square with a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of your colour — your choice.
Almost every promotion is a queen (the strongest piece). Occasionally, promoting to a knight is right because of an L-shaped check the queen can't give. This is called under-promotion.
eThe king is being attacked. The player whose king is in check must respond — by moving the king, blocking the attack, or capturing the attacker.
8742abcdfgh1The king is in check, and there is no legal way to escape. The game ends immediately — the player giving checkmate wins. This is the goal of every game.
The player to move has no legal moves but is not in check. The game ends in a draw — nobody wins. A common rescue when you're losing.
The rule about your own king: you can never make a move that leaves your own king in check — even if it would otherwise be legal. The king is sacred; you must always keep it safe.
Leaving a piece undefended where the opponent can capture it for free. Before every move, check what your opponent is attacking. Just glancing.
Strong players will chase your queen with knights and bishops, gaining time and development while you waste moves running away.
An exposed king in the centre is a magnet for attacks. Castle within your first ten moves — almost always.
After castling, those pawns are your shield. Every pawn move there opens a crack the enemy can exploit.
A four-move attack on f7 by an early queen-and-bishop combo. Defend f7 (often with …Nf6 or …Qe7) and you've nullified it.
Don't memorize twenty opening moves. Learn the principles — control the centre, develop your knights and bishops, castle early, connect your rooks.
If you forget every opening, just remember these three rules. They're enough to play a respectable game against anyone.
The fastest way to learn is to play and review. Sign up free and start with a slow game so you have time to think.
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